#probably fulcrum centered

[trashhicon]

I kinda want to make scavs witchcraft apothecary au now grahhhh, what if they owned a little apothecary and metaphysical shop…and they were all supernatural entities…krok is the owner, spin is like the main manager and co owner, fulcrum doesn’t even believe in magic but spinister cured him of a awful curse so he’s like I work here now, and they have a cat because I said so, and it’s super r/male living in the back

[phoenixyfriend]

Did another 'too many links' rec list for reddit

light by loosingletters  - this is probably the best one for what you want

a distant fire is burning by e_va

Sith Killer by Livsy

Post Order 66 Exile AU by Livsy

Celestial Bodies Of The Lonesome Variety (LSD) by Did_you_see_the_light_in_my_heart

Take it from the top and try again by mauvera

there is no death by ashkav

problem dog by vaporeon_ninja

Party at a Sith Dude's House by kakashikrazy256 (the premise includes a convenience marriage)

love is with your brother by Petrichor (Mythmaker)

Sith Lightning, Paperwork, and Other Extreme Sports by DeadStarsRising (includes Anidala but is primarily Anakin & Council)

A Padawan at War (Again) by soft_but_gremlin

Mace Windu Fixes the Timeline... And Breaks it in Whole New Ways by AbsentmindedAuthor98

every planet, every star, every single grain of sand by loosingletters

Fishhooks by yellow_caballero

the massive machinery of hope by Killbothtwins

My Dad the Purge Trooper by Nutella531

Twilight on Owl Creek Bridge by yellow_caballero

Old Promises by Threebea (Beewaggle)

cheers by gigglesandfreckles

Same Heart, Same Blood by loosingletters

forge the iron in your veins by afearsomecritter (jsaer)

Jedi Shmi AU by MirandaTam

Make a Brand New End by Batsutousai

Declarations by Nny11

Impressions. by outpastthemoat

There is another Skywalker by WabiSabi

No Choir and edge of providence by adiduck

Living Memory by elsa3beth

Anakin Skywalker: If Found Please Return To Obi-Wan Kenobi by PhenomenalWoman

Lost and Found by trysomecats

The Little Jedi by PhenomenalWoman

Shifting Sands by chancecraz

Force of Many Sights by DAsObiQuiet

The Dark Path Lit by Sun and Stars by A_Delicate_Fury

Viridescent Skies by DarthSnug (themikeymonster)

Reprise by Elfpen

Living in Borrowed Time by smug_albatross

Old Man Luke by scarletjedi

Don't Look Back by acuteneurosis

Shih by esama

GAR Requsitions by TessaDoesThings

wilder mind by sheApunk89

Dominoes by meridianpony

Sith Lord Swell by AMournfulHowlInTheNight

ARscbpsup by SecretlyAnonymous

The Care and Feeding of Our Jedi by BitterChocolateStars (background ships present)

ForTheRepublic.mp4 by lesbianpadme

An Abundance of Obi-Wans by The_Last_Kenobi

Ghost of Tatooine by SarcasticSketches (references to past Anidala)

R2-D2 Saves the Galaxy (Okay, so Obi-Wan helps a little) by kj_feybarn  (Jangobi and Anidala are technically happening, but half the fic is from R2’s POV and he just finds that all annoying)

And some self-recs:

Accountant of Theed

Late Nights

 A Really Good Book

They Went to Live on a Farm

Pale, Silent, and Covered in Blood

Ah, So YOU are the Reason I've Got a Headache

Nightmares

Anakin and the Jedi Babies

Journey to the Center of the Galaxy

Parole Officer Fulcrum Steals Three Million Babies

A Witch's Favor

Anakin's DNA Wish

Jango Breaks Into Satine’s House (And Criticizes Her Security) (references to Obitine)

A Saturday Morning Adventure

Big Sis 'Soka

[telesodalite]

Been itching to ramble again, and I've had these lines stuck in my notes for awhile now, because I think about them a lot

"Are you really okay with this?"

"Of course I am! Aren't you? Half a billion! You could use it to—to—

...

What is it you want to do again?"

"I'm doing what I want to do! And you're clearly not or we wouldn't be here..."

-

It's such an interesting look into their perspectives, not only about this moment where they're arguing about the money and Grimlock, but about how their lives have been playing out up to this point.

I mean, there's the obvious matter of Krok being displeased with himself and his own achievements post-war, and in contrast, Fulcrum being content with what they have, and them both being confused about why the other feels that way.

But mainly it's interesting to me because it says something about Fulcrum, and the fact that compared to the others, he doesn't have a goal or anything he wants to achieve here. Fulcrum is content. He's happy. He doesn't want anything else, or at least, none of his wants were big enough for Krok to make note of.

He's doing what he wants to do, and that is fascinating, because we've seen the highlights of what all their current life entails, and yet, he's content with it and mildly taken aback by the fact that Krok isn't.

Because, unlike him during this time, the rest of the Scavengers have goals, things they want, things they're gunning for, hoping for, planning on, ideas that are driving them forward, or ideals that they fantasize about.

Crankcase and Spinister want luxuries, comforts, hobbies. A big ol' shiny spaceship Crankcase can have all to himself, and if Krok's words speak true to Spinister's wants, then the time and space to go hunting recreationally whenever the fancy takes him.

(Crankcase also wants love, but that's not something money related, outside of like, idk, wifi, ship fuel, and dinner date costs or smth idfk)

Krok and Misfire want purpose and the ability to fund those purposes. A treatment center and the chance for Krok to make something of himself by helping as many others as he can, and the knowledge and/or the proper assistance to help Grimlock's health progress further than what Misfire can currently do for him.

(Obviously all of them also want money, just in general for no particular purpose, but that's fair and also a given, and not really a point here lol)

But Fulcrum? Nah, he's good. Because he already achieved his goal, whether that goal is continuing to wake up alive every day, or having companions, or both, it doesn't matter, because he's got it, he achieved that, he's got what he wants. He's got a life, he's got them, what else is there to really want?

That's not to say he's without wants, I mean, you can't tell me this guy wouldn't perk up at the idea of like, a nice warm, quiet, cozy oil bath with a snazzy bottle of some aged engex on the side or something. But on a grander scale, looking at his life and what he has now, he's fine with it.

A billion shanix isn't worth disrupting this life he has. No amount of luxury, or comfort, or funds for whatever goal, are worth trading any of them for.

Because he wants this, the Scavengers, Grimlock, and the weird life they've built together. That's what he wants, that's what he's got, and knowing what he was willing to do after only knowing them for a short time, he'd probably rather die than give any one of them up for any reason, even a billion shanix.

[thenixkat]

Scarab issue #8. The last issue for the limited series. Will we get answers? probably not ok the giant hands are actually there and that dude's wings

…do …does the cosmic coincidence control center exist to prevent or correct massive changes to the status quo?

the Scarab is a rebirth fulcrum apparently

which is bad for these guys doing their job the seahorses that arrived with these guys are some kind of monitoring device these guys claim to be 12th dimensional beings in a form thats able to interact with this level of reality.

they're also referred to as agnostic angels who are tasked with keeping the integrity of the world-mind again more words with no explanation the Scarab offers the suggestion that maybe the status quo needs to change

also the Scarabaeus recognizes these guys but gets distracted b4 it can tell Louis shit and b4 teh 12th dimensional angels gotta shut down his brain and administer amnesiatics its got something to do with Elenor, who's apparently a chrysalis??

well glad man still loves his wife even if she's transformed into an odd spectral abomination

..is Louis fucking his giant spirit jellyfish monster wife rn?? i feel like that's being implied at least a lil bit pls give vocab definitions pls. also ghost auks

we. are are shown. Louis is absolutely fucking his giant monster wife. Specifically the big yonic looking bit. Man's chest deep in the giant ghost pussy

there is an entire page that's just panels of this. Its just… I was not expecting this seires to be so damn horny

2 pages devoted to this. the second page is a flowery description of the world shattering cosmic orgasm as Louis fucks his giant monster wife i think she's fucking enlightenment into him

fucked her back into a vaguely humanoid form. they are still connected. merged entities

pls explain things

the rest of her cosmic mass is still not very human, just made a human shaped tentacle for her husband to hold hands with

sex is energy apparently

they whent back to fucking

its very what the fuck is going on also we end on more cosmic fucking their lust energy might change the cosmic status quo

which would be interesting if this had ever gotten followed up on and that's it. That's Scarab (1993). Louis quested to get his wife back and got her back. the Scarabaeus kept their promise to help this man fuck his wife again

[cosmicanger]

One more time: materially support disruptive people who get in the way during this time, not the people who aren’t risking much and are frankly wasting so much time and energy on the “can’t you see humanity?!” approach with fascists and white supremacists who do not care if any of us live or die.

‘Doctors Without Borders’ (not a cosign of DWB) says its staff are 'witnessing people being shot at as they attempt to flee the Al-Shifa hospital'—and not one art gala or art fair canceled; art folks can make as much noise as they want, it is tragically business as usual for the majority of the arts, an arena that boasts progressive views they often do not practice. “We are no doubt experiencing trauma on a planetary scale and it's jarring to me that some people are either pretending that none of this is happening or riding the waves of catastrophe into positions of social influence.”

The art world is putting Black people and nonblack people of color on unofficial blocklists/denylists (let’s move beyond using the term 'blacklist', and y’all don’t want to adopt the term bad-jacket in the arts for some reason) while most white art folks are going about like it’s any ol’ week any ol’ month. “Harvard is evicting a Black /hgsuuaw student from campus housing today for serving as a student safety marshal during a recent campus protest organized by /HarvardPSC.” Translation: A BLACK STUDENT IN SOLIDARITY WITH PALESTINE IS BEING **EVICTED** BY HARVARD UNIVERSITY. So many Black people are losing jobs and housing and putting their careers on the line for Palestinian liberation (Reminder that Cop City in Atlanta is supposed to have these fascist soldiers coming and training police; Palestinian liberation and Black liberation cannot separate), and so many white “allies” can't make a post, can’t even say the word Palestinian, won’t show up to an action, etc.

Also, art folks keep posting documentaries and texts they are not finishing because most of what is happening worldwide is repeated actions. The art world these days is giving when people bought Black books but never picked them up from bookstores. So many people need to learn from what happened before October 7th. You can tell by the way many art folks are echoing what Black people and non-Black indigenous people have gone through for centuries as if it's a brand new sentiment that they didn't care about before and will probably stop caring as soon as Palestine is out of the art news cycle. Most of the art world is still politically stuck in pre-2012.

I called it on October 7th; I said, careerists & neoliberals will take roughly 3 to 5 business days after the violence to figure out their vague stance and about two weeks for them to get the point that they can be openly political without risking too much. And they deadass did precisely that. The parallels between 2020-2021 and now are so apparent to me. Still, I am tired of people calling Black people self-centered for pointing out the root causes for our shared solidarity to people who only support decolonization as an abstract. Even the fascist settler colonialists name Black solidarity to non-Black Palestinians as a "threat" because they know that Black people know how to identify oppression quicker than any other racial group. After all, anti-Blackness is the fulcrum of all oppression globally. "Edward Said's office in Columbia was fire-bombed. He spent his life as an academic within the reach of a panic button and under a constant stream of death threats. Today, Columbia as an institution has again sided with these forces of reaction even as they capitalize on his name." "Now that (even moderate) pro-Palestine sentiment has been effectively outlawed in both the public and private sectors, I hope we can soon say goodbye to the Western myth of «free speech" from which so many reactionaries built their careers." In the arts, "free speech" is reserved for oppressors and the people who enable them.

This post from thedomsolo encapsulates how many people in the arts or on the NYC or LA scene move during this time: This is maybe the second or third post they have made since Oct 7th that even says Palestinians straight up, and this post is mostly in meme format and a joke to keep the "aloof" and "quirky" branding up. "This is the equivalent of 26 dinners with Jay-Z every day" is so disrespectful, especially coming from a non-Black culture vulture of Black culture. Do better, art world; again, I won't hold my breath, but it is wild watching how art people move during multiple interconnected genocides. If the arts had more courage, artists who were silent during this time would have press releases moving forward that say phrases like "this is for money" and take out all the sociopolitical jargon and art speak. No more "for the culture" group shows and press releases if you can't even name Palestine or Haiti in your IG stories or dinner parties.

[rebelscum218]

Partly inspired by this post from @seleneisrising, here are some more thoughts to add upon the idea of a more mature Sabine to mirror Ahsoka.

I believe that Sabine's choice to stay on Lothal to protect Ezra's legacy can directly influence how Ahsoka handles Anakin's legacy, since both Sabine and Ahsoka are in situations that they can't control. The same way Sabine cannot change the outcome of Ezra's disappearance, Ahsoka cannot change what happened to her master. It was Ezra that chose to follow the path of selflessness, and the same applies for Anakin when he chose selfishness. What Sabine chose to do was to honor and recognize Ezra's sacrifice, throwing herself in protecting and rebuilding his home until he returns, and in doing so, she has created a beacon of hope, a place to call home, and more importantly, something to live for, which is, in my opinion, is exactly the closure Ahsoka needs regarding Anakin.

The goal was for Ahsoka to understand that it's not her own fault that Anakin turned, and that it's not her role to save him as well, because it was Anakin that made his own choice and could not tolerate anyone that knew who he used to be. The way she appeared to be in Mandalorian Season 2 and the beginning of Ahsoka was that she was too detached from others, afraid of taking on the responsibilities with Grogu and Sabine in fear of creating another monster like Anakin, which made her stuck and jaded and wary. So in order to free herself from that, she has to let go of that guilt she brought upon herself to carry.

And by seeing how Sabine handles her own baggage, seeing how instead of wallowing in grief and regret that she couldn't change what has happened, she is a person with clarity and focus, a mission to undertake and a promise to fulfill, that she was the one pestering Ahsoka to do more to find Ezra, and that she was so much stronger and centered and balanced because of her connection to Ezra and to Lothal. This would be the reminder for Ahsoka that a Jedi's strength comes from their connections: a Jedi can accomplish amazing feats in the Force because they cared about people, about values and what's right, and this unshakable faith gives them the ability to defeat evil. This will in turn push Ahsoka to realize how much she has changed, and remember that she too was once like that: choosing to become a Fulcrum agent to help people, doing good whenever she can despite everything that she could not help prevent.

So Ahsoka reclaims her past self and reflects on how she handles Anakin's legacy: preserve and pass on all the good influences he had to the next generation of heroes and making this a cause to fight for, which would be the drive for her to reach out again to Sabine to find Ezra. Of course, this kind of reckoning journey has already been undertaken by Obi-Wan in the Kenobi series, and from a storytelling perspective it would probably be a bit repetitive, but then again, Star Wars has always been about the same messages of hope and the next generation, and choosing the light even in the face of overwhelming darkness. And by having Ahsoka follow a similar path to other Jedi before her can only strengthen her place as a worthy teacher and Jedi successor.

Sometimes when I think about the Ahsoka series, I think of how much I would have preferred if Sabine was the one who pulls Ahsoka out of her jaded and weary self. The more I think of Ahsoka and Sabine's respective stories, the more I think the show has missed the opportunity of bringing us a fleshed-out and strongly-connected relationship, because there is much these two have in common.

They both share a similar eagerness when they were younger, a desire to prove themselves (Ahsoka to show she's not too young to be a Padawan learner; Sabine wanting Hera to trust her with more details of the Rebellion), they were both survivors of genocide (Order 66, the Mandalorian purge), they both know what it's like to be named a traitor by their family (Ahsoka being accused of bombing the Jedi temple, Sabine being shunned by her clan after creating the Duchess), they both knew what it's like to walk away from home, as well as being a wanderer without much purpose (Ahsoka tagging along with the Martez sisters, Sabine being a bounty hunter with Ketsu), they both have a snarky sense of humor etc etc. The list can go on even longer if we look deeper into their stories in the animated shows.

So to bring these two characters together in the Ahsoka series and not touch on any of that is a pity, because I can imagine the interactions they could've had that would give us much more reason to invest in their relationship. (For example, finding solace and understanding in knowing that they are both relics of a past they could never return to, comparing notes about Jedi and Mandalorian values/training methods, how they reminded each other of previous dynamics with other people while working together, how Ahsoka is not affiliated with the Jedi anymore but still behaving like one is similar to Sabine's own confusion about whether she can still identifiy as a Mandalorian given her new role as Jedi apprentice etc etc.)

And as much as I enjoyed Sabine in the series, I couldn't help but think how it would be like if she was a character that acts as a reflection of Ahsoka's Rebels-era self: centered and reserved, but still forging ahead with a clear purpose. And that she was the one calling the shots during their journey, the one who reminded Ahsoka what it's like to believe in and fight for something again, and how much Sabine represented the youthful optimism she once had, making her realize how much she's hardened and changed, liberating her from the ghosts of her past and returning her to the Ahsoka Tano people once knew. It's difficult to come up with an arc for a character that has been developed for over 13 years already, but by bringing Sabine into play, the depth and dimension of the story as well as the possibilities it could bring are still yet to be fully utilized.

Anyway, these are some stray thoughts I've had from time to time, and it's been on my mind long enough that I feel like putting this out here. Comments and thoughts are more than welcome.

[blaiddraws]

I know the au is primarily centered around Ingo and Emmet, but like, I'm super curious about other legendary Pokemon in the fulcrum au. Like are the others also just out there living these relatively chill lives? Or are some of them stirring up trouble here and there? Also if there's any pokemon that definitely is living their best life out somewhere as a human in the world it's totally Mew right? Like, it's characterization in its movie appearances as a fun loving, mischievous little guy, who loves to play some unconventional games here and there, just fits so well with that one comic of the star that comes down to earth to try out being a human because it looked fun. Idk it just seems super in character for Mew, and it's the legendary I can most easily imagine deciding one day to just go out and live as a human for a while because 'hey! Those guys look like their having fun, maybe I should try that out too!'

yeah!!yeah !!! most of the other legendaries that take on human forms prefer to live relatively chill lives. (including ingo and emmet! they were just Some Guys, despite their position as battle facility heads, before This Whole Mess.) but you will definitely get the occasional one that's a bit more. active. notable. other vague adjectives.

as for mew.... MEW.... YES. YES . absolutely.

ohhhhh. oh man. yes. yes. mew's probably one of the protags/protag-related/-adjacent/whatnot kids. of any of the games. hmmmmm... I definitely haven't played the majority of the games so idk who exactly it would be. but. it just Feels Right.

[kalluzeb4later]

Writing Kalluzeb Every Day for a Year - Day 9

Idea: (Pink lasat!Kallus! Cue pink panther music)

Ok this was getting ridiculous! Alex had painted over this EXACT pillar 10 TIMES!

Not only was it still NOT Imperial Gray like the paint he'd been given to use, it was now covered in stenciled graffiti!

There was a blue wolf, an orange phoenix, and what looked like a cute pink and a purple loth cat with a little heart over them.

It was a lovely sight but if he didn't get this wall taken care of like the Imperials... "asked" him to so he could signal the pick up... there could be some trouble. The tagger was probably still around and he didn't need that right now while waiting for his contact to-.

"You!"came the vocoded voice of a storm trooper.

Oh, karab-!

"What's all this?"

Alright, stay calm. Just explain the situation, you have a half empty can of paint as evidence. Hopefully they wont notice the false bottom.

Like these guys ever listen to reason.

"Just fixing this wall. That's all," Alex shrugged and hunched to make himself less tall and more submissive to the smaller, armed, humans.

One of the pair of troopers kept their weapon trained on him while the other looked at the can of paint.

"This thing is practically empty. How exactly were you going to fix the wall, Pinky?" the trooper asked incredulously.

Alex took a big breath and let out a sigh to try and buy time while thinking of something...anything. He came up empty.

"Well... that's a good question," he turned his ears down.

"Uh huh," the trooper looking at the paint can lifted his hand to his comm. "This is SW-2014: We have some suspicious activity in an outer sector. Bringing in a suspect for questioning."

Both troopers had their blasters trained on Alex who lifted his hands in surrender, "This really is nothing. I assure you-" Kriff! He can't miss his contact. He has to make sure the Fulcrum information gets passed on to the Rebellion and he can NOT go to an Imperial detention center. Xenos don't come out of there. Especially lasat!

"We'll leave that up to the -" BANG!

The storm trooper closest to Alex got beaned in the head with a ... jogan fruit?

All three of them turned to see the direction that the fruit turned projectile had come from.

At the top of a building was a boy with medium length hair waving to them, and then loading another jogan fruit into his electrosling for another shot.

"Hey! Little Punk!" The trooper opened fire on the boy.

Alex lunged for the trooper's blaster. Opening fire on a child!? It was just fruit!

He grabbed hold and wrenched the blaster from the troopers hands before slamming it into the helmet and sending the trooper down. His partner had taken note and turned to greater threat.

Dank FERRICK! This whole thing was kriffed!

Alex fired on the trooper while reaching for the paint can with one of his prehensile feet. He'll just have to take the data with him and find another way to contact the Rebellion.

-

Alex managed to get to the roof tops and toss the blaster away. Hopefully he could find cover and lay low before the heat found him.

Before he felt he was a safe distance away to return to ground level, he heard the tell-tale sound of a TIE in pursuit.

He looked back to see how close it was.

VERY close!

In a moment of panic he fell to all fours and bounded a few strides from one roof top to another. He'd drop to street level for cover, but there was market and citizens on either side. Can't risk them opening fire on innocents. He kept to a zig zag pattern to hopefully make him a harder target when he heard the TIE pull up to his left.

Of course, now he's an easier target to hit from the side. Maybe it's close enough to jump on?

He looked left focus on judging distance, yes it's close, and made the leap to the canopy with a yell.

He clung on, now out of range of the guns and attempted to open the hatch... when it opened on its own. Huh!?

From out of the hatch popped up the blue hair boy from earlier, "Get in!"

"He's not going to fit!" someone shouted from inside.

"He can't stay out here!"

Alex crawled up to get a look inside the fighter.

Inside was...another lasat!

And a...handsome one at that. Large too.

Focus! The man was right, the three of them weren't going to fit in there, not comfortably anyway. But what other choice was there.

"One side!" he ordered the boy, trying to push him gently out of the way while he squeezed in.

He really did try not to crowd the man flying the TIE, feeling the fighter dip dangerously forward as he accidentally shoved the pilot.

They barely managed to fit, Alex pressed uncomfortably against the back wall of the fighter to leave the pilot enough room to maneuver and the boy almost on his lap.

"Who are you two!?"

"I'm Ezra. That's Zeb, another lasat like you."

The pilot ear's twitched back. "Kid," he said with a note of warning.

"Y...yes I noticed," Alex said in his clipped accent, "I meant, is there a reason you two stole a TIE fighter?"

"Long story, but for now it looked like you needed a rescue."

Alex looked out of the window the fighter to see that they were leaving the city, and the sensor didn't show anyone on their tail.

He also noticed... "Well for this rescue to stay that way you should really disable the tracking device," he stated as he used his foot to pull the blue and red wires from underneath the console.

"And... to what do I owe this rescue? I assume this wasn't out of the kindness of your hearts."

The boy looked at him earnestly, " It was! Mostly."

"Mhmm," Alex agreed incredulously.

The pilot finally spoke up. "Look, we don't like the Empire and we do what we can to give them some trouble, especially when their giving it to someone else. And uh.... y'know. Us lasat need to stick together these days. There aren't many of us left."

Alex's ears lowered in sympathy. This 'Zeb' must be from Lasan.

Alex had never been to Lasan, he grew up and lived on Coruscant, but even before its fall it was also nice to see another of one's species. He could understand the sentiment. So maybe they had helped him without ulterior motive, however...

"But why steal a TIE fighter? There are other, less dangerous, ways to stick it to the Empire."

"Well, see," the kid began explaining, "we were sent to find some meilooruns..."

-

This crew was starting to look exceptional to Alex. Ezra had been kind enough to ... well 'blab' was putting it kindly, about all their adventures so far as he knew and Alex was more that impressed and taken with them. They were a group of well-meaning risk takers with their own moral compass, willing to do what was right with only enough pay to keep them well supplied and fed. They had brought food to refugees and risked their lives to save a handful of wookie slaves with no greater plan other than doing something good for the galaxy.

They were skilled and spirited. They might be something greater with the right connections and support.

When he managed to be alone in the cockpit with the captain, Hera, who was clearly in charge, he cleared his throat to get her attention.

"I appreciate the impromptu rescue from your crewmen, Captain. And from what I've seen, you're a fine and spirited group who wants to do more for the galaxy," he started.

"Mhmm, I know that tone. Usually comes before a job proposal and has something to do with a bigger picture. You're not just a local Zeb and Ezra happened to find and help are you."

"Being found by them was not intentional, but I am grateful for it. It led me to you and you seem like an excellent fit for ... the group I work for. I'm sorry I can't share many details, but... you know you're not alone. Correct? That there are others in the galaxy who believe in something greater, something better than the Empire, and are willing to do what it takes to make it happen?"

The Twi'lek leant forward, very interested.

"It doesn't have to be a full commitment now, but I can put you in contact with someone with more jobs for your crew to carry out, that will pay, and will also help make the galaxy a better place. Are you interested?"

The captain crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. "You sound earnest, but how can I be sure that these jobs are good?"

"Like I said, it doesn't have to be a full commitment. I can give your contact information to my "employer", they can contact you, and you can decide for yourself from the information they give you."

"Mmm, ok. Here's a comm channel I can be reached from. It's a burner though, Just so you know."

"Smart," Alex smiled taking the chip and putting it in one of his pockets along with the data sticks he meant to drop off. He'll have to deliver those in person now.

He rose to leave.

"Sure you won't stick around for a bit? Zeb would really appreciate another adult around for a while, especially a lasat. We'd been hoping to get you two to meet."

"What?"

"Don't mean to sound like stalkers. We'd seen you around Kothal before and hoped to run into you for a proper introduction but... things kept getting in the way. Like the Empire and Zeb's anxiety. I don't want you to be blind sided but...Zeb likes you. At least what he's seen."

Alex blushed. That handsome warrior had liked him...without even meeting him? Just looking? As lasat go, Alex wasn't much to look at, too lightly colored with only some side facial fur to boast. Maybe it was just lack of options but... y'know what? Alex would take the chance.

"I suppose I could stick around for a bit, " he smiled.

(notes are appreciated, and the color I imagine pink lasat kallus to be is called "Pantone 176 C" )

[howtofightwrite]

Q&A: The Elaborate Fall and Controlling Your Center of Balance

Anonymous asked:

I kinda want to hint at a character’s martial arts skills by having them trip and respond using skills taught in martial arts. Perhaps it may not be martial arts specific, but anything else where keeping steady and taking tumbles well is important, idk skateboard, acrobatic? Perhaps it matters why the trip occurs, like missing a step or stepped on loose tile, small moving obstacle ran into them?

Did you mean, physically adjusting my body to restore my center of balance and counter a fall?

Any form of activity which trains you to maintain your balance/center of gravity and develops control over your core muscles will help you save yourself from falls. This is most forms of physical activity, but not limited to martial arts, dance, skateboarding, acrobatics, yoga, cross-country running, sprinting, most track and field related sports, most sports, etc. It’s an exhaustive list.

They’re probably not going to trip, tip forward, turn the fall into a forward shoulder roll in the middle of the street, and calmly just walk it off like “no biggie.” That’s a lot more effort than the average fall is worth. (The average person’s confused reaction would be hilarious though, and that’s why the elaborate fall is a comedy trope. There’s also nothing subtle about it.)

Honestly, there’d be no overblown response which would force a character to use their “skills” i.e. techniques for falling because losing your balance is really common when you’re training. Techniques for falls are really techniques for how to fall safely when thrown and spreading the force out so you take the impact on a greater area. For example: if you slap the floor on the moment of impact, you reduce the effectiveness of your opponent’s throw and limit the damage done to yourself.

Lost balance is resolved by utilizing your core muscles (your abdominals) to correct your posture in the moment, set your weight if necessary, and bring your body back into balance. That’s it. You don’t think about it, you’ve practiced so often you just do it. The mental process for tripping is, “oh no, I’m falling. There’s the ground. Oh, now I am not falling.”

The best scenarios are, “Oop… Nope. We’re good.”

Taekwondo gives you a lot of practice standing on one leg, so you learn to balance your body at all kinds of weird angles. We learn our central balance point is a fulcrum. I cannot tell you how many times this has occurred on ice and my body just auto adjusts to counter how I am out of balance. Sideways? If your ankle can resolve the problem on it’s own, opposing arm out and lean toward it. Falling forward? Bend your knees and squat. Falling backward? Lean forward. Foot slipping out from under you? Go with it and start a split. In 98% of ice slips, my butt never hits the ground.

The reason why is that when you train in martial arts (and I’m going to discuss martial arts specifically, but this is applicable to other sports) you develop fine motor control, fine motor control and awareness of your body lends itself to a greater internal sense of balance. What does this mean? I will realize when I am out of balance sooner than the average person and my response time is faster, meaning the corrections likely go into place before passing the point of no return. The point of no return is when your body has passed a point where your fall can be stopped in it’s arc. If you pass that point, gravity takes over and nothing you do can save you. The same thing happens with strikes if you want to block them, you have to stop the strike before the extension otherwise the blow will go right through you. It’s dependent on your inner timing.

If you want to hint at a character’s background in martial arts, a better option is going to be their reputation for auto-correction and fixing their falls. “Jack’s got a really good sense of balance. Like, creepy good. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Jack fall.” I was somewhat notorious among my friends in high school for my ability to stay in balance. People notice when you’re good at things that they are not good at, especially girls who like to complain about being clumsy. Someone being very centered can become very creepy if you spend enough time around them.

It’s like getting asked, “where’d you get that bruise?” And responding, “uh? Dunno.” And you really don’t know because it could’ve been anywhere. You just get so many, you stop noticing.

You’d really need to get a handle on how balance and balance adjustment works if you wanted to try and pull off balance adjustments seen in genres like Wuxia or Xianxia. These scenes are usually there to be comedic or act as a genre specific tell for a specific kind of martial artist. Basically, it’s there to subtly (or, in most cases, unsubtly) tip the audience off to the fact the character is literally superhuman. So, when you see a martial artist do this in a martial arts film, they do this elaborate stunt (often on wires) because it’s a martial arts film or television show and not because people do it in real life. It’s a specific genre convention heavily dependent on Martial Arts Give You Superpowers in conjunction with the specific brand found in East Asian storytelling. You’ll be hard pressed to get the elaborate fall working outside the martial arts genre because, well, outside of East Asian storytelling tradition and other cultures where martial arts hold an enshrined existence, they don’t give you superpowers.

(If you’ve been uncritically consuming Japanese anime, Jackie Chan films, Into the Badlands, martial arts based k-dramas, wuxia and xianxia c-dramas on Netflix/Amazon Prime/YouTube/Vicki like the Untamed, or even Marvel’s recent outing in Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, I can understand where the elaborate fall might become confusing.)

– Michi

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Q&A: The Elaborate Fall and Controlling Your Center of Balance was originally published on How to Fight Write.

[crackshct]

"If you think about it, you're no more human than a slime." That'd been the start of what most would probably consider a largely offensive pitch, even for the people of Teyvat who'd never really met a cyborg before. Boothill could have just walked away at that very moment and no one would have blamed him. Hell, he could have fired off a warning shot, or even put a bullet in the kid's foot, and anyone with common sense probably would have thought him justified for it. Blame it on his naivety, or his sometimes detrimental tendency to hear people out, but Boothill had actually stayed to listen to the rest of the pitch.

And he'd intended just to listen, not get roped into this whole mess. The protest had been horribly organized and aggressive to boot. The activists had gathered around the plaza in the center of the city of Mondstadt, shouting non-stop about the experience of slimes, blocking anyone from accessing the restaurants and shops all along the street, and breaking stalls and stands set up for the alchemy demonstration planned for later in the day. And who was the fulcrum of their whole argument? None other than a silver cowboy from beyond the firmament. Unwillingly, of course. He hadn't really known what he was getting into when he'd heard that overeager activist out, and now they pointed to him as evidence that the slimes could just as easily have a rich emotional world. That what the alchemists did to them was no different than what had been done to him.

It was a stretch, if Boothill had any say in the matter, but science was never really his thing.

And, besides, the whole thing had imploded on itself. And now Boothill, supposed mastermind, was dashing over the walls of the city to escape the clutches of the authorities. Yet again.

He'd gotten nearly to the village of Springvale, when he'd almost barreled over a child. Well, he thought she was a child at first glance, but as he peeled himself off the roadside boulder he'd stumbled into to avoid knocking her down, he took stock of the horns, the big, bright eyes, the tail, and the bluish skin and decided this was probably the best chance he'd have to throw the Knights off his trail. So he grabbed hold of her shoulders and knelt down close to speak to her face to face, a look of urgency across his face.

"Listen to me, Thing to Thing." If he wasn't categorized as a human here, then he was going to take a guess and say this girl wasn't either. But he'd been wrong before. He hoped he wasn't this time.

"I got folks on my tail and the forkers'll be on ya, too, just by association, so I'm gonna duck down in that yonder valley and you're gonna keep that mouth'a yers shut if anyone comes 'round lookin'." He reached for his gun but didn't quite draw it from his holster, only bringing attention to it with his hand. "If I'm not bein' clear enough for ya, I got a li'l somethin' that I reckon'll help."

@sedena

Slime Rights Activist

Abundance | Slime Alchemy - Boothill & Sedene

[goodqueenaly]

I was helping write for @historyofwesteros’ Rains of Castamere stream this weekend, and something Aziz said made me realize - the song “The Rains of Castamere” is even more of a triumph for Tywin than I first thought. Despite the fact that Ellyn Reyne was the central figure of this drama - the natural fulcrum of the Reyne-Tarbeck faction, the de facto de uxoris ruler of the Westerlands during the War of the Ninepenny Kings, the defiant commander at Tarbeck Hall - she is nowhere to be found in this song. Indeed, despite the fact that it was Ellyn who (per the unabridged chapter, anyway) provided almost the direct lyrics of the song - “[y]ou are not the only lions in the west, ser. My brothers are coming, and their claws are just as long and sharp as yours” - the songwriter (probably deliberately) misattributes the quote to the unnamed Lord of Castamere. Nor does the song have any mention of the Tarbecks at all: it is the Reyne lord who mocks the Lannisters, and the (to borrow @racefortheironthrone’s turn of phrase) noyades of Castamere which takes center stage in the Lannister reaction; even the song’s title puts the emphasis on the Reynes alone.

And this, I think, was exactly how Tywin wanted it. An active participant in the patriarchal and misogynistic structures of Westeros, Tywin very much believes in strict, lesser spheres for women to occupy - domestic roles as wives and mothers. A vassal lord rebelling against his rightful liege to try to take over supreme power for himself? That’s not unknown in the feudal order, Tywin may have thought (indeed, the Lannisters had only risen through the cunning and trickery of an ancestor against an established liege),l; he could and would crush any uprising to show that he was the top dog (lion?) in the west. But a woman defying him - a woman who had dared tried to claim the place of the Lannisters, a woman who had tried to rule the Westerlands through the front of her husband, a woman who had gone so far as to refuse any surrender to the Lannisters at her gates? That, I think, Tywin would find unnatural, monstrous, a disturbing aberration in the world order. This abnormal woman would in turn both become the target of special hatred - Genna, admiring Tywin, referring to Ellyn even in the modern day as “that scheming bitch” and recalling Tywin’s joy at seeing “Tarbeck Hall [come] crashing down on” her - and deserve to be eliminated from the history in which she had tried to insert herself.

So while Tywin of course didn’t write “The Rains of Castamere” himself, I think he approved of the way it was written - and specifically its exclusion of Ellyn Reyne - as the perfect complement to his actions and attitudes during the Reyne-Tarbeck Rebellion. Just as Tywin had (again, at least per the unabridged chapter) silenced Ellyn’s daughters (perhaps twice over, by forcing them into the silent sisters and perhaps removing their tongues), so the song silences her. There is no place for Ellyn in its lyrics, even as a treacherous rebel commander - that’s a role for her nearest male relation instead (no matter that by the time the war crime of Castamere occurred it was Reynard and not Lord Roger offering terms to Tywin; in the firm class order of Westeros (and no less firm than in Tywin’s Westerlands), it’s the lord who ranks above his younger brother). For Tywin, to celebrate the destruction of Tarbeck Hall would be to advertise the occasion in which a mere woman dared defy him; better to perform a sort of damnatio memoriae on Ellyn Reyne herself, to rewrite the history in a proper (which is to say, in Westeros, patriarchal and sexist) way as as one of males versus males. Only “the shattered [castle] of the … Tarbecks” would “[stand] as mute testimony to the fate that awaited those who chose to scorn the power of Casterly Rock”; the defiant woman who had made it her last stand, only for it to become her grave, would be eliminated.

[mari-beau]

GIVE ME A REASON: PART TWO -A Rogue One Fanfic

Again, mostly just getting my headcanon straight for a close-to-canon Rogue One AU in which Cassian and Jyn survive. I feel like she may seem a little OOC as I’m writing her, but at the same time, I feel like everything that happened in Rogue One, especially on Scarif would’ve messed her up.

(Read Part One)

Title: Give Me A Reason: Part Two

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Characters: Jyn Erso POV, Cassian Andor

Pairing: Cassian/Jyn (mostly pre-ship?)

Spoilers: Rogue One; Episode IV A New Hope

Setting: Post-Rogue One AU (Cassian & Jyn live); Also during/post A New Hope

Warnings: Angst? A little bit of “torture” (for a good cause)?

Words: 856

Summary: Jyn’s entire universe has been turned on its head, so maybe she’s clinging a little too hard to the one thing she feels certain of (strangely enough) as she tries to figure out her place in the galaxy. And maybe she’s being a little overprotective of a wounded captain.

8 Days earlier...

“We’ve reached Yavin 4. You’re going to need to get them to give us clearance.”

“I’m not officially part of the Alliance.”

“Well, get up here and convince them.”

“No.” Jyn pointed the blaster at the Imperial pilot’s face, tightening her hold on Cassian’s unconscious body draped in her lap where she sat on the floor of the shuttle. “You convince them or I’ll shoot you in the face.”

The smart thing maybe would’ve been to get on the radio herself, but she could not abandon Cassian. Not for even a few minutes. She just… couldn’t let go of him.

“If I don’t convince them, you likely won’t have time to shoot me in the face before your Alliance friends blast us all away.”

The infuriating Imp with a strong sense of self-preservation had a point. But what he didn’t seem to be understanding was that Jyn wouldn’t do any better at convincing them who they were, to allow them to land.

Dank Farrik.

If her suspicions about the extent of the man’s injuries were at all accurate, this was going to be unpleasant. Jyn made an attempt at gentle rousing, running the backs of her fingers over his stubble-laden cheek and jaw, speaking his name low but clear.

“Cassian, I need you to wake up. You’ve got to give us a code or something. We’re almost home. Wake-up, Cassian.”

The muscles in his face twitched and the grimace contorting his mouth softened, but there was no movement beneath his eyelids and his breathing remained the same labored but steady cadence.

“Don’t make me do this, Cassian. Come on. Just wake up!” She stroked his cheek again, gave him a little shake, but to no effect.

“They’re requesting we identify ourselves,” the pilot said, his voice becoming strained.

“Then tell them who we are!” Jyn shouted, still no signs of consciousness from Cassian. “We escaped the destruction of Scarif. Give them our names, for all the good it will do. Jyn Erso. Captain Cassian Andor. He’s in need of medical attention.”

The pilot repeated their names over the open frequency. There was a brief pause. Jyn held her breath. But then the Imp swore. He couldn’t be looking forward to being a POW. But the man seemed to have the opposite of a death wish, and was practical. He’d given little protest when she’d shoved a blaster in his face and told him to fly the ship off Scarif as fast as was humanly possible. And now he was as determined to get to Yavin base as she was. Or, not get shot out of the sky, anyway.

“They’re asking for a code.”

Jyn swore.

She shook Cassian. Hard. Shouted for him to wake up. A pathetic moan escaped him and his eyes fluttered open briefly, but then closed again.

“Fine. This is going to hurt, but you’re not going to make it at all if we can’t land.” Jyn leaned down to whisper in his ear as she slid her hand beneath his shirt over hot, taut skin. “I’m sorry.”

She dug her fingers into the blaster wound on his side, feeling the seared, raw, oozing flesh give way as her fingertips sunk into the puncture at the center of the wound. His body immediately jerked and stiffened and then wrenched away from her grasp, curling in on itself.

Cassian cried out in agony and she felt bile leap up the back of her throat.

But he was wide awake now. Panting and bewildered.

She grabbed his arms. His dark eyes, glassy and dilated black with pain, focused on her face.

“If this is what being dead feels like,” he said, his breathing ragged. “I think I choose to live.”

“Good.” She smiled. Cassian was a fighter. “Do you have some sort of code to confirm your identity with the Alliance?”

“What?” He blinked at her, panting hard, one hand cradling the blaster wound she’d maliciously poked, the other reaching to clumsily touch her face, knuckles gently brushing her cheek. What was he…? He was delusional with pain.

“Cassian, please. Your code. So the rebels know it’s you and let us land.” She bit her tongue on the pleas attempting to force their way up her throat, that he needed medical attention, that he was probably going to die in her arms if they were turned away from Yavin 4. And she couldn’t, Force help her, lose another person today. Especially not him. But she’d contemplate why that was some other time. “Please.”

“Fulcrum. Alpha. Three. Six. Two.”

Cassian’s body promptly went limp in her arms again, but he was still breathing. And Jyn sighed in relief before relaying the rebel intelligence officer’s code to the pilot, to the base which would be their salvation.

She fought the tears when they were granted clearance and finally landed to find a team of medics waiting to take the wounded captain into their care. And she knew it was for the best, she knew she should allow herself to be whisked off to get her own blaster wound treated, but she just… couldn’t let go of him.

Read Part Three

[cowboycostume]

re: "what broke the connection?" & Goodbye Stranger

I've talked about that moment before, and hit on some of why it drives me up a wall, but I saw a post by @gracelands2 yesterday that brought the scene back to the forefront of my mind. (it's never far off, but still). their point that the level of interference from tptb regarding that line, and deancas from that point on is relatively accurate and was already rebutted here by @geekout-f-t-w. But let's get into the textual reasoning behind that back out/cop out/reversal of intent/whatever you want to call it.

So, we have two players, right? we all know them; repression boy and the celestial sodomite. the whole of s8 they and their relationship have been front and center, first in the Purgatory flashbacks, then in person, and culminated in one of the most memorable scenes of the show. even with the knowledge of the scripted 'I love you' being changed to 'I need you' (something I personally think absolutely added more nuance and meaning to the scene, but this is a digression), the answer to the question is unequivocally love. and it's also unequivocally Dean. the very fact that Dean asks says so much about how little he thinks of himself, a depreciation that has been enforced by Cas' radio silence, and the reveal that he chose to remain in Purgatory, instead of returning to Earth with Dean.

s8 is one of those fulcrum moments, where if the story had run slightly to the left, the two of them probably would have communicated and figured their shit out. Dean sure was ready to at points in the season, and Cas was lobotomized multiple times because he was dangling on the precipice of being able to recognize and acknowledge what it was that set Dean apart, what it was that Dean made him feel. Then we get to the crypt. and Dean drops the "I need you." The whole reason that "what broke the connection" drives me to consume building materials is that there is no reason for Dean to ask EXCEPT for his own feelings of inferiority and inadequacy. Dean doesn't know that leading up to this moment Cas has been forced to run practice scenarios (but we do), Dean doesn't know what has been going on between Cas and Naomi all season (but WE do). So he doesn't understand that he is the only thing standing between Cas and the will of heaven. The reason that the walk back works I character and in canon is largely because Dean lacks this knowledge. And because Cas, ashamed of what he was forced to enact at the will of heaven, traumatized by the "reprogramming" he had been undergoing all season, didn't tell him.

So Dean doubting Cas' feelings for him fits perfectly into place. It fits into the arc crafted by Carver and Edlund and Robbie Thompson because it was meant to. This moment had been being built up to not only in s8, but ARGUABLY since 5.03. Remember that that episode is written by Jeremy Carver. Followed by The End, Carver and Bedlund have been playing the DeanCas tug-of-war long game for a while. Build the relationship up, add doubt, rinse and repeat. 8.17 is all about FAITH. it's about doubt. the whole point is that Dean has enough faith in Cas to know that he is not in control of himself ("this isn't you, Cas"), but Dean doubts himself so much that he can't see that what broke the connection was his faith.

Cas, on the other hand, is untangling the mess of his mind. He might not be able to recognize the feelings, but even if he does, how do you profess your love mere moments after attempting to murder the object of your affections? How do you reconcile the feelings you're not supposed to have with the feelings that are invoked in that moment. How do you do all of that while running for your life?

[charley1979]

KAW 2021 Day 2

Prompt: Sharp Teeth

Running a day behind but I Day 2′s story up. This one got a little away from me. :)  Here is the link to it in AO3, also. https://archiveofourown.org/works/31079063

Kallus knew the patrol was going too smoothly. The reports he had received showed an active rebel presence but even multiple planetary scans hadn’t shown anything.  Konstantine had huffed when he’d ordered the ground patrol, saying something about chasing smoke which Kallus ignored.

This gave him a perfect cover to get another report to the Rebellion out of a system that showed rebel activity. The risk of his transmission being traced, if it was even caught, would be exceptionally thin. And even if it was, coming from this system just showed that the initial reports were accurate, just cagier than the admiral would ever admit. The smirk that thought put on his face just made him look viscously focused to his troopers. Which is exactly the cover he needed to uphold.

Once the shuttle landed, he ordered the troopers to start a grid pattern. There had been a few spots that showed questionable activity, but if it ended up being a group of smugglers Kallus had been trying to catch for the illegal smuggling of T7s what was he to do? His orders were to uphold the laws of the Empire and those … weapons were illegal.

He shook his head, not wanting his mind to go down that dark hole. He knew what his conscience would do to him and that could not happen here.

Instead, he headed for a cantina further down the alley. It was a dark, nasty place where all manner of ill repute gathered. Just the kind of location where he’d find a black market comm unit to send his data through. Not all of it, unfortunately, there was too much data on the spike to risk that, but he figured if he did this over the coarse of several different missions he’d get the majority to the Rebellion.  

When he’d initially found the information buried in the archives will the Lasan data he’d been in shock and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. As more scrolled across the screen he’d realized that he had uncovered one of the largest cache of blue prints, battle reports, troop movement schedules he’d ever heard of.

Kallus had copied everything to a spike and logged off quickly. He’d buried his tracks and sliced the data trail back into a clerical system that was not checked regularly. Only a dedicated intel search of very redundant systems in the core servers of Coruscant would be able to find what he’d done.

He cleared his mind and as he into the cantina his face was that of a consummate ISB agent, calm and menacing as he sent the troopers to check the surrounding buildings.

There was not a huge crowd, just a couple Ithorians at a table talking with a Rodian. A human was playing sabacc with a Sullust at the other side of the room. There was one bartender, human, and the back area looked empty. He walked past the bartender, taking in the look of fear and nervousness. Kallus’s eyes narrowed a bit and when the man’s eyes fell to the bartop he slipped into the back hall.

There was a small communication array and bounty board. Under the guise of scanning through the list of bounties, he slipped the spike into the array and entered an encrypted signal. He made as if he was checking the boards, watching as the spike sunk into the array. It was almost done when a shadow blocked the entrance to the hallway.

His hand was on his blaster, quickly withdrawing the spike and pocketing it as a rather stocky Klatoonian blocked the hall. Kallus turned and faced the growling male with an impervious glare, not appearing bothered by the other’s loud growls or exposed fangs.

“And just what do you think you’re doing, Imperial?” The male growled out, spittle coming close to landing on Kallus’s tunic. “Didn’t think any of your kind would need to be collecting bounties. If you even could.”

Kal’s right eyebrow cocked up at the sinister leer on the other’s face. The male looked him up and down and Kal could see his nostrils flare as the … being scented him. And then the alien stepped further into the hall, blocking it, and smiled with all his teeth.

“I think you’re a little too pretty for that kind of work.” Kal’s other eyebrow rose minutely at that.

He honestly couldn’t tell if the alien was truly that confidant, or that stupid. Kallus was not a small man by human standards. Yes, the alien had him in weight but Kal had spent a good chunk of his life training for that. And he had spent a good chunk of time recently facing off against a highly trained, highly intelligent Lasat. Compared to Garazeb, this Klatoonian was laughable. Not that his face showed any of his thoughts. He let a smirk slide onto his face, ready to dispatch the alien when a rumble at his back had the other male's eyes going wide.

“Heh heh.” Garazeb’s deep laugh was quiet and full as malice, coming from behind Kallus. “You aren’t wrong about that.”

Kallus took a small step back against the wall so he could see both aliens, showing no more concern at now being between two large aliens than he had before. Too many battles had him knowing not to get involved until he had a better option. And Garazeb had just changed the situation up, giving Kallus quite a few more.

Zeb stepped closer into the hall, so that the Klatoonian could get a better view of the much larger alien with a smiling mouth of fangs all his own. His eyes were narrowed and the way he held himself made if very clear who the more dangerous being was. Kallus’s reaction to such a blatant threat display was probably not the appropriate one but he had acknowledged to himself rather quickly after Bahryn that his feelings for the Lasat were rather complicated.

Zeb prowled farther into the hall and Kallus kept his face impervious as it seemed to sink into the Klatoonian that this wasn’t going to be the “easy fight” he’d thought. Kallus watched as the snarl toned down but the glare the alien sent him was all still all slimey heat.

“Just leave him here when you’re done.” He  grunted, finally taking a step back from Zeb’s continued growl. “I’m sure he won’t be as pretty but doesn’t really need to be.”

There was no way to miss the way that Zeb’s growl sharpened at that, standing to his full height as the Klatoonian turned and left.

Kallus was mostly in the shadows of the hallway and he sincerely hoped they covered the flush he could feel crossing his cheekbones and going down his neck. He had a clear view as Zeb growled after the other alien; his muscles bulging, his hands curled into fists, and his fangs catching the dim light perfectly. The agent found himself transfixed by that gleam, imagining what those sharp teeth would feel like dragging over his skin. He quickly got himself under control but from the deep breath Zeb took, his scent was giving him away.

 Zeb held his gaze as he took another deep breath through his nose, and his smile was all teeth as he looked at the agent.

“What do ya say, Agent?” His deep rumble practically purred, stepping up to him. “Promise I won’t leave a mark on ya.”

The agent stood stock still as Zeb leaned forward and took another sniff right by his ear.

“Unless you’d like me too?”

Kallus held Zeb’s eye as the Lasat leaned back, looking entirely too pleased with himself. And, true, Kallus could feel his flush practically glowing. But he’d had since that moon to realize his complicated feelings and the one he knew and acknowledged seemed to be very much returned. And he had never been one to back down when he knew it was a mutual attraction. So he gave the Lasat a heated, obvious, once over that slowly took in the entirety that was Garazeb Orrelios. From the clawed digitigrade legs, to the powerful thighs, on to the man's strong hips, taking in the clawed hands, up to his barrel chest, and up to the ears before again focusing in on the other man's fangs that were still showing in that smug smirk.

Kallus stepped up to the rebel, his eyes going down to the other’s belt as he slid his finger over the top of it lightly, tugging when he got to the center and raised his eyes. Catching the surprise in the other’s gaze before the smug came back. And Kallus answered that smirk with one of his own, all heat and teeth.

“Oh, I’d like that.” Kallus purred, his voice dropping an octave looking at Zeb through his lashes. “The question is, would you?”

He watched as something else flickered over Zeb’s eyes. Something that matched an emotion Kallus had felt in his bunk late at night and refused to name. Something that was so much more dangerous than anything he could ever do as Fulcrum. Zeb held his gaze, the hallway feeling so much warmer as the other man began to lean down.

“Agent Kallus!”

They both jumped back against the walls of the hallway as Kallus’s comm erupted. “No sign of the rebels, sir. But we did catch a crew of smugglers with some highly illegal contraband.”

Kallus took a deep breath and gave an apologetic look to Zeb as he raised his comm.

“I’ll be right there.” He responded, and lowered his arm.

He looked over at the Lasat, his heart still racing from what had almost happened. What he hoped had almost happened. Zeb returned his gaze with a heated one of his own, his fur standing up on his shoulders and neck.

Kallus stepped over to him, confidant as he ever was on the battle field, right up to the larger man and palmed the spike into Zeb’s hand and he leaned up to his ear.

“Be careful flashing those teeth, Garazeb.” He purred, putting all the training the ISB had ever provided into his voice. “Or you just may need to make good with them.”

He was so close he could feel Zeb’s quick indrawn breath and the low purr that started immediately. Stepping deftly back before the other man could grab him, Kallus started towards the entrance.

“Oh, I’ll make good Agent.” He could feel Zeb’s growl as the other man stayed in the hallway.

Kal took in the lasat’s look, smug and with even more fang. That he ran his tongue over as he held Kallus’ gaze. And the smirk grew when Kallus made an aborted step back towards him.  

He cast a heated glare back at the other man, making sure to hold it till the fool Lasat squirmed. Then he headed for the docks; knowing the image of Zeb’s tongue rolling over that fang would be featuring prominently when he finally returned to his cabin.

[79chevyimpala]

Cwtches

They had just gotten back from the scouting mission assigned by Leia.  Zeb had gone to check-in with his Ghost family, and Kallus went to medical on his own, knowing Zeb would have had no problems manhandling him to the med-droids, and while Kallus loved to be manhandled by Zeb, he was in no mood for the inevitable teasing he would have received from any and everyone who saw.  So he had gone on his own.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27664250

Once Kallus had been cleared by medical, he and Zeb went to debrief Senator Mon Mothma.  She and the rest of command were eager to know the suitability of the scouted location for the next Rebel base.  Zeb and Kallus were of the opinion that the planet they had scouted was inhospitable, but they may have been biased. After the debrief, General Draven took Kallus aside and Zeb decided to wait for Kal outside, just in case the discussion was something he hadn't the clearance for.  "While Operation Fracture was ultimately a success, I regret to inform you that Captain Cassian Andor and all of Rogue One was lost." There must have been a glitch in Kallus' brain, because all he could offer back to Draven was a look of utter confusion.  He thought, if he remembered correctly that Operation Fracture had something to do with an Imperial scientist named Erso, but had absolutely no idea what Rogue One was. If he had been a man prone to dramatics, he would have sighed at the look of confusion, but he remembered that the Captain had already been gone when the shit hit the fan.  He knew no other way than blunt so blunt he was, "Captain Andor is dead.  Draven "The Dick" (as Zeb called him) turned and walked away from a shocked Kallus, and didn't bother to acknowledge the Lasat as he passed by. Zeb could not have cared less about the General, but it should have meant that Kal was right behind, but he wasn't.  'Ok Zeb, someone else probably needed to talk to Kal, no big deal,' he told himself.  Ten minutes went by - no Kal, then it was 15 minutes, and Zeb was getting anxious.  He peeked into the command center and the only people there were there were the command techs.  "Karabast!" "I'm sorry, Sir, I don't know what that means," said the closest tech. "It's probably better you don't, kid." The tech gave him a knowing wink, "Gotcha.  If you are looking for Captain Kallus, he went out that way about 15 minutes ago." "Uh, thanks Mate," Zeb said after he started walking away.  The tech appreciated the gesture, he knew the Captain had something on his mind and hadn't meant to be rude, unlike a certain General.   It always unnerved Zeb when the techs did that.  He should have known better, the ones who were never seen, were the ones who saw everything. The next place Zeb went was Kal's bunk, but Kal wasn't there.  He assessed the situation from what he knew and chose one of the two next logical places to look for a disappeared Kallus.  And he found Kallus exactly where he thought he would, amongst the "clean lines and hard angles" of the Palace of the Woolamander.  "Do I need to go kick Draven's ass?" "Zeb?"  Kallus was confused for a moment before he focused on what Zeb had asked him.  "Oh, ah not this time, he was just the messenger." Zeb knew that tone of voice Kal used.  Zeb did not like that tone of voice Kal used when he thought he hadn't done enough because the outcome wasn't one he had expected, even if he had nothing to do with the original situation. If one was to believe Kallus, he would be responsible for every evil deed the Empire has done even before he joined. He had squatted down on his haunches to be closer to Kal when he noticed something in Kallus' hands, "Whatcha got there Kal?" Without uttering a word, Kallus just handed the object over to Zeb.  After he took it, he sat down all the way opposite Kallus.  Then Zeb looked at what he was holding.  It was a hand held holo projector with a still image displayed.  It took Zeb a minute to figure out what he was looking at, and what it was was a picture of Kal with a dark haired and darker than Kallus skinned man at (and this was the kicker, if he hadn't been looking at it he never would have believed it of straight laced Kal) a tattoo parlor! Before Zeb could say anything, Kallus spoke, "That is Captain Cassian Andor of Rebel Intelligence, a fellow Fulcrum, and the person I defected to," here Kallus had paused briefly, "He was also my only friend after you." Zeb set aside that last bit to examine later, instead he focused on the young man, "He seems really young, he's just a kit like . . ." "Ezra," Kallus breathed, "I had thought the same thing when I met him.  He was only 26." "Was?" Zeb asked knowing he was not going to like the answer. "Captain Andor lead a team to Scarif to retrieve structural plans for what had been being built over Geonosis.  While ultimately the mission was a success, he along with everyone on Scarif were lost." To anyone else, Kallus might have sounded cold, but Zeb (and maybe it was because of his Lasat ears) heard the lilts Kal was trying so hard to hide.  He didn't say anything as he handed the projector back to Kallus, but before Kallus could pull his hand back, Zeb had grabbed Kal's wrist and pulled the grieving man into a fierce hug.  He hoped he could convey all the love and support he had for Kal through the strength of his arms holding Kal tight, and the pounding of his heart. "Ashakrawhante, Zeb."

@comfortember

[trailersblog]

Choosing Between an Open and Enclosed Trailers

Choosing Between an Open and Enclosed Trailers

Gooseneck trailers and fifth wheel trailers have many advantages over the other sorts of trailers. They are not commonly utilized used enclosed gooseneck trailers for sale by towers though. These kinds of trailers are able to shoulder the burden of the trailer. The trailers are additionally protected throughout towing.

Fifth wheel trailers have a design that has the pivot level positioned over the rear axle of the automobile instead of behind it. A gooseneck trailer is subsequently a fifth wheel type. The difference between a fifth wheel trailer and a gooseneck trailer is of their cargo flooring.

A fifth wheel cargo ground extends over the body of the tractor whereas the gooseneck cargo flooring ends behind the bumper. The gooseneck is type of similar to different bumper mount trailers in that their cargo flooring additionally ends behind the bumper. In a gooseneck trailer hitch, the trailer kingpin mounts at a long truss's finish instead of below the body like a fifth wheel trailer. That's the reason why the gooseneck can work with the truck mattress of a typical choose up as an alternative of the flatbed required by the fifth wheel.

The reasoning behind the configuration of a fifth wheel it is on the effect the trailers' tongue weight has on the tractor. The physique of the truck acts like a seesaw when load is positioned on the rear bumper.

This pushes the doorway wheels up whereas the fulcrum is represented by the rear axle. You remove the seesaw impact for those who transfer the load's contact point over the rear axle straight. This permits the weight of the trailer, to be compressed by the springs of the rear axle instead of the truck nostril lifting. Extra weight distribution is achieved when further weight is at the front. This brings about dealing with that's safe and predictable.

The workings of a seesaw are that when one facet has extra weight, the other facet goes down. This is essential during heavy load towing. A trailer solely compresses the springs at the rear axle a variety of inches when the load is full. When the heavy load is applied to the bumper the rise prime drop needs to be added due to the fulcrum affect.

This may trigger hitch to highway contact. It is because a traditional Reese hitch receiver has two to a few inches hanging beneath the bumper. This causes improve of the fulcrum impact Read our Blog over bumpy roads. This might probably be worse if a trailer that tilts forward has further of its weight being transferred to the hitch amplifying the affect extra.

If you place the trailer's pivot close to the center of the automobile parking and backing are affected. The trailer pivot acts as a steering axle. When you place the trailer pivot away from the steering axle of the tow rig it responds slowly whereas backing on the steering inputs. This can mean that it's important to back the tow rig further.

You have to additionally steer it harder to be able to get the similar trailer rotation if the pivot stage is near the front. Fifth wheel trailers do that very effectively, making parking and backing a simple maneuver. Larger than any bumper-mount trailer.

Whenever you point out trailer hitch most people consider the ball model and although common for some sorts of hauling the gooseneck trailer hitch is way stronger and far more maneuverable. Gooseneck trailers are very common in trailers used to haul livestock.

In reality it is a widespread occurrence on for horse trailers. The sort of hitch is discovered within the truck bed above the rear axle. The trailer is then secured to the hitch. Right Clickl here for Wikipedia here is a few issues it's best to learn about this kind of hitch.

A gooseneck hitch just isn't a fifth wheel although it is commonly mistaken as such. Although very like a fifth wheel they are actually second in towing capability Social Network here. The gooseneck is certainly more durable to install than a fifth wheel and their efficiency is kind of restricted.

A gooseneck cannot be put in in all trucks. The truck you select should meet the burden 24 foot gooseneck trailer necessities for the trailer you'll be towing.

There are professionals and cons to each gooseneck trailers and fifth Wheels. A gooseneck has a tube that hangs down from beneath the bunk which hooks to a heavy obligation 2 5/sixteen" ball mounted in the truck's bed. It takes up little or no room nevertheless to ensure that you to be able to use the whole deck you can purchase a fold down ball set.

The drawback to t the gooseneck is the hook up could possibly be a little bit of a pain. You must place the ball instantly underneath the hitch which is not that simple. And also you additionally must crawl into the sector to hook up the security chains which might be quite an annoyance.

A 5th wheel in addition to being the strongest hitch system may be the very best to hook up and use. The fifth wheel hangs beneath the bunk and there's a larges metal plate with a 2 inch pin that nearly aligns itself. All it's trailers123.com a must to do is back up and get shut and it'll actually join itself. You do not have to crawl round hooking up safety chains infact there aren't any. A fifth wheel can be a one man band. Two can really be a crowd.

The disadvantage is that it prices a great bit and it is a little bit of a truck mattress hog taking over almost half of your mattress. There is a removable kind however it's heavy and awkward.

No matter what kind of hitch you may be utilizing hooking up your trailer and driving off into the sunset is considerably of a fable. There are a variety of rules that it is essential perceive and modify to before you start towing whether or not you're utilizing a gooseneck hitch, a fifth wheel hitch or widespread ball hitch.

Gooseneck trailers are a terrific determine for livestock and if you wish to enjoy some leisure time have in mind fifth wheel trailers - every good selections.